Four Ways
by DancingDragonBlaze
Summary: As a lifestyle? As a redemption? One of many confusing things about life is that one word can mean so many different things - some of which you wouldn't even realize. We study these strange phenomenons in Four Ways. Main Pairing: NaruSasu
1. Scar

**Yo.**

**I honestly don't know where this came from either. Well, actually, I kinda do, but I kinda don't. **

**For those among us who read Reader's Digest, you know that new thing they have in there called Four Ways of Looking at A: (hat, car, movie, etc)?**

**Well, I got the word SCAR into my head, and I was just like, 'Hm. That could work.'**

**So this came about. Random situations, sometimes abstract ideas, but I really liked the way it turned out.**

**I hope you do too! :D**

**Four Ways to Look at A:**

**Scar**

_One: As A Mistake_

"I loved you, Sasuke!"

The words were spoken through lips stained red with blood, full of an ache so inhuman that it should've been wrong – it should've been illegal to feel so much pain. They were growled out, forced out through rage and tears.

But were they getting through?

Hands that gripped a shirt – also stained with blood – raised the shirt and the body inside it and slammed it down again, trying to force out some response. It used to be a dark blue – the shirt – like the ocean or the twilight sky, but now it was black with blood. Fresh blood. Hot blood.

Steam slowly rose from the blood, hot against the chilled stone, hot against the freezing rain. Why did it always seem to rain when the heart ached? Was it to clear the head? To mirror the emotions, the fears?

Was it so that the tears could be camouflaged?

He tried again.

"I loved you Sasuke!" He repeated, as if those were the only words he knew as he pinned down the other with his weight, his legs pinning the other's hips to the freezing ground. He didn't care if the other was dying, if he himself was dying, or at least he told himself he didn't. He didn't care anymore, he told himself. He didn't care. Fuck the rain, fuck the fighting, and fuck _him_.

And said _him _had yet to say anything.

The clawed hands tightened around the stained fabric.

"I loved you! I loved you, and look at where we are now! Look at what you've done! Look at what you've made me do! Fuck you Sasuke! FUCK you!"

Eyes stained with tears and blood finally closed as his head pitched forward, his back curling so that his forehead rested against the chilled ground next to the other's face. He was stabbed, ripped and torn, but he didn't care, he told himself.

The other didn't say a word, merely gazing at him with blank, unreadable eyes.

There was silence for a moment.

"Was it… a mistake?" He breathed, gazing at the silent other. "Was it a mistake to chase after you? Was it a mistake to try and fix this?" Then his voice got quieter. "Was it a mistake to love you?"

The other gazed at him for a moment before closing his own eyes, tilting his head slightly to press his forehead against the first.

They simply breathed for a moment, feeling the rain pour down.

Then four simple words filled the silence.

"Everything is a mistake," he breathed gently as the darkness rained down.

When Naruto woke up three days later in the hospital, there was a scar on him – stretching right over his heart.

Four years later, it was gone.

And so was Sasuke.

Naruto simply stood there in his apartment four years after that battle, staring in the mirror with his shirt off, staring at his chest.

Staring at where the scar used to be. He remembered it. He remembered it constantly. He knew exactly where it had been, what it looked like, how jagged it had been, how long it was.

And then it had vanished.

Just like Sasuke.

Just like the person who scarred him, who marked him.

That scar hadn't been just a physical reminder.

Then, closing his eyes, Naruto calmly took a kunai from the dresser and raised it to his chest.

Without batting an eye, he carved out the scar again, making it exactly as he had remembered it as the blood bloomed upon his skin – a red flower against the warm sun.

As long as that scar stayed there, so did Sasuke, in a way.

And as Naruto watched that wound heal over, watched the flesh rise as it mended – the scar was stark white against his tanned skin, white, he realized, like the color of Sasuke's skin – he didn't regret it.

Perhaps everything wasn't a mistake after all.

_Two: As A Lesson_

"Do you regret it?"

A softly spoken question, wanting to know but not really minding if the question wasn't answered.

After all, both of them knew the answer.

He raised his eyes to gaze at the tanned torso, his eyes lingering for a moment on the bulge hidden beneath the pants' sloping waistline before traveling upwards, taking his time to drink in the toned abs and the powerful chest before he admired the strong chin and inwardly sighed at the shocking blonde hair.

But he avoided the eyes. Anything to avoid the eyes.

Then he turned back to his work.

"Why does it matter?"

Ah, so predictable. A question with a question. Always.

Arms were suddenly around his shoulders. A chin rested on his collarbone, forcing his to tilt his head backwards onto the other.

The other kissed his neck softly.

"Well?" He purred lazily, his body warm. "Do you regret it?"

The first rolled his eyes.

"Can we talk about something else?" He replied, not really in the mood. The other chuckled, nuzzling the first one's neck.

"Don't forget…" he cooed, his hand slipping underneath the first one's shirt with his fingers hot against the chilled skin. "There is something to be learned."

His hand raised itself out of the shirt as he picked himself up slightly as the first one closed his eyes.

Then the large palm rested decidedly on the first's left shoulder blade.

His eyes snapped open at the touch and he leaped out of his chair, pushing the blonde away and whirling so that a few feet of space were between them.

"Stop that-!"

Before he could finish the command he was pressed against the nearest wall, his chest being crushed against the wood as another body pushed decisively against him.

But he did nothing to stop it. The chill of the wall in front and the warmth of the body behind clashed painfully, like a heated hand against the frost of an iceberg. His lungs were hurting, his shoulder throbbed, and his head hurt like someone fucking hit it seventeen times with a fucking _frying pan_.

But he didn't do anything to stop it. He didn't lift a finger.

He simply closed his eyes, allowing himself to relax.

The blonde gazed at him, gazed at his back, which the shirt still covered.

His lower torso pressed against the smaller's lower back, he leisurely ran his fingers up and down, feeling the material.

Then, slowly, he fingered the hem of the black shirt, toying with the fabric for a moment before finally lifting it up, slow and teasing.

The first let out a soft sigh, like a breath of wind.

"Yes…" the blonde breathed, lifting up the shirt until it was pooled around the other's neck.

On his left shoulder blade, there was no tattoo of slavery.

Only a scar – like the entire shoulder blade had been torn off in a raging fury to be free and then reattached, flawless and yet not so flawless – marked the otherwise unmarked skin.

Well, the blonde would surely have to change that, now wouldn't he?

He ran his fingers gently along the scar, the imperfection that made him perfect outlining the entire expanse of the shoulder blade, even whiter against already-white skin.

The blonde chuckled.

"There is something to be had here…" he breathed, taking his hands away from the scar and letting the shirt fall, instead sneaking his hands in front of the other to undo his pants.

The first simply closed his eyes, allowing the blonde to do whatever he wished.

"Yes…" he breathed. "A lesson to be learned."

And he had learned it. He learned it the day, the hour – no, the _minute_ he had stepped through the other's door. He was learning it every day he spent living in the other's apartment, living in the shadow of the other's glory. A lesson learning.

Naruto smiled.

_Three: As A Memory_

"When you love a person, they are never really gone."

Those were the words he lived by now. He knew that as he breathed them to himself. It was either live by those words or die. Either live by those words or go insane. Or was he already insane? How can you tell? How do you know when you finally start slipping? Is it when you start becoming afraid? Is it when people start talking to you in dreams? Is it when you think everyone's out to get you? Is it when you're unable to trust someone you've known and loved all your life? Is it when you turn to drugs or alcohol to stave off the panic and paranoia?

Is it when you start seeing someone that should be dead?

But there had to be a reason. There was a perfectly logical, understandable, reasonable explanation for this, he was sure. There was a reason everyone seemed to be a threat now. There was a reason his dead teachers were talking to him in his sleep. There was a reason he seemed to be drinking more and more lately.

And there was certainly a scientific explanation for why the hell a _ghost _was sitting at his dining room table.

Sighing, trying to keep his patience, he pinched his nose in the effort before raising his head and gazing at the specter, who occasionally flickered and blurred – like a TV with a bad reception.

"What the hell are you doing here, Sasuke?" He growled, glaring at the dark shape, barely able to see the outline of the facial features. "Will you stop bugging me? I've got work to do!"

The ghost – Sasuke, apparently – merely cocked his head at him before standing up and walking _around _the table (why, Naruto didn't know – the guy was a GHOST for fuck's sake) and heading over to the blonde, standing in front of him.

Naruto glared at him.

"Well?" He snapped. "What do you want?"

The ghost gazed at him with eyes that didn't exist.

Then he raised a hand, and touched Naruto's chest gently, right over his heart.

"_You were going to forget."_

Then he was gone as Naruto let out a hiss, raising a hand to push against his heart, which felt like it had suddenly gone ice cold. Hastily stripping himself of his Rokudaime robes, Naruto dashed to the nearest mirror to stare at his chest, where Sasuke had touched.

Then his eyes widened.

Etched into the skin above his heart with what seemed like a freezing cold iron instead of a blazing hot one were four simple letters.

**MINE**

Naruto sighed, running his fingers over the raised skin of the scar – of the raised skin of the letters.

"If you really love someone, they're never really gone," he breathed.

Maybe Sasuke wasn't the one that was dead.

Maybe it was him.

Maybe it WAS his memories that were keeping Sasuke alive.

Well, if that was the case, was Sasuke remembrance of him keeping HIM alive?

Or had he been forgotten? Was he dead now? Was he dead to Sasuke?

Naruto sighed once more as he gazed at those four letters.

Then Sasuke's own words rang through his head. The words spoken to him on that day where time had stood still – when Naruto and Sasuke had fought… and Naruto had won. Against every fiber of his being and every shred of his soul, he had won, his fist holding Sasuke's heart within the other's chest, stopping it from beating.

He could see Sasuke's eyes so clearly still as they bore into his own, so full of life and fire even as that same spark faded.

He could still hear Sasuke's voice even as he breathed six simple words.

"_I will never be a memory."_

Two minutes later, Sasuke had died.

Naruto, gazing at the mirror, gazing at the newly-formed scar, gave a small, wry smirk.

"Yes, you will, Sasuke," he breathed softly. "You will."

You will be a memory.

A memory that will never fade.

But a memory meant to be forgotten.

_Four: As A Promise_

"I don't believe you."

He rolled his eyes, having expected this.

"I really don't fucking care if you don't believe me, Naruto," he replied. "I'm telling you the truth."

"No you're not!" Naruto snapped, the sunlight streaming down through the leaves in the trees. "This is some kind of twisted trick! Something Orochimaru cooked up-!"

"Naruto, you're an idiot!" The other spat. "Orochimaru's DEAD! What the fuck do you care?"

"What the fuck do I CARE?!" Naruto repeated, outraged. "What the fuck do I CARE?! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY FUCKING ASKING ME THAT?!" He let out a senseless roar of rage. "DAMMIT SASUKE! I CARE BECAUSE HE TOOK YOU AWAY! I CARE BECAUSE HE KILLED YOU!"

"He didn't kill me, Naruto," Sasuke replied, trying his best to be patient as he leaned against a tree, his arms crossed. "If he killed me, would I still be here? C'mon you dumbass – get a fucking grip."

"Don't call me a dumbass!" Naruto raged, flailing his arms.

"I'll stop calling you a dumbass when you stop _acting _like one," Sasuke spat, losing patience. "C'mon! What do I have to do to show you I'm serious?"

Suddenly Naruto stopped, turning deathly serious as he turned his head slightly to drill his gaze into Sasuke. Sasuke would've had to fight to take a step back if he wasn't leaning against a tree.

"Oh shit," he muttered beneath his breath.

"You want to know what you can do to convince me?" Naruto replied, his eyes flashing red as the demon inside him began to gain more influence. No physical traits showed yet, but Sasuke could tell – the beast's twisted way of thinking was slowly leaking into Naruto's brain. "You want to know what you could do?"

Naruto was suddenly in front of Sasuke, making the other curse in surprise and scramble backwards to only hit the tree he had been leaning against. Sasuke had cut off his own way of escape. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Hands were around Sasuke's arms, ripping apart his long-sleeved shirt.

The other yelped.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?! I LIKED that shirt, you asshole-!"

"Promise me, Sasuke." Said ninja blinked, realizing how close Naruto's face was to his own. The smell of fiery Chakra met his nostrils, and he fought from sneezing in Naruto's face. "Promise me."

Sasuke scowled.

"Promise what? I didn't tell you I loved you, you nitwit-!"

"You don't need to." The words made Sasuke blink again. "I don't need to be told. I can tell. Otherwise you never would've come back to Konoha. What else did you have here?" Leaning forward, Naruto nuzzled Sasuke's throat. "Besides me?"

"Still think I'm Orochimaru?" Sasuke breathed softly, smirking. Growling, Naruto bit him sharply, making the other jerk. Well, that was his answer, in a sense.

"Promise me, Sasuke…" Naruto breathed, now licking the spot he had bitten apologetically. "Promise me."

Sasuke was having a hard time breathing normally now.

"Promise you what?" He murmured, his body relaxing underneath the other's powerful touch.

The next words were soft as Naruto toyed with the crevice between Sasuke's pectoral muscles – in the center of his chest.

"Promise me you'll be mine. All of you."

Sasuke let out a soft sigh of bliss, and then he managed a weak smirk.

"So I guess I'm going to get more than just a kiss like I asked for, huh?" He asked breathlessly, pushing suggestively against Naruto. The blonde returned the smirk.

"Maybe…" he purred, starting to dig deeper in that same spot with his teeth. "But not until you promise me."

Sasuke simply breathed for a moment, knowing what was to come.

"Okay…" he breathed. "I promise."

Suddenly a tooth was buried in his flesh, being dragged downwards in the center of his chest as blood bloomed. When it healed, it would make a nice, thick scar.

A scar identical to the one on Naruto's own chest.

It was a promise. A promise of the flesh and thus a promise of the soul. A promise made.

A promise kept.

**End Four Ways:**

**Scar**

**The goal I had for this 'Four Ways' is that I didn't want to go off on endless tangents for each one and look back to see that this is like, forty pages long. **

**I wrote the first two, and then I realized something.**

**They were both EXACTLY two pages long. **

**I was just like, OMG! THAT'S PERFECT!**

**That was my goal, and I succeeded. The only exception is the last sentence for the last story. (All the dialogue, I think.) That one line is the only thing that kept it from being EXACTLY two pages. I couldn't find a way to shorten it without rewriting EVERYTHING. Ugh. DX**

**Oh well. I still enjoyed all four of them, and I'm happy they were so short. That was another goal of mine – I've always loved those one shots that are only like, a half a page long, yet were so abstract and carried so much depth that you couldn't help but by moved by them.**

**Until next time I attempt to try, this is going to be the closest I can get.**

**Ja ne!**

**DDB**


	2. Love

**HIIIIII! :D**

**Well, keeping things short, I'm on a road trip, and I rarely get internet, so that gives me time to update everything! :D**

**I hope you like this, you guys!**

**Four Ways to Look At:**

**Love**

_One: As Redemption_

"I love him, Tsunade."

The Hokage sighed.

"That makes no difference," she replied tiredly, sadly. "You are a rogue Ninja, he is training to become Hokage. You can't go see him and he can't see you. Look at the condition you're in!"

The tired eyes narrowed.

"I have no power left, Tsunade." A sleepy response. "I used it all to save him."

She shook her head. Those eyes were so full of haunting… so full of agony.

"All right then. Maybe I can do something. Just tell me what happened one more time…"

----

"_You're going to die, you idiot!"_

"_I don't care! Shut up, Sasuke!"_

"_No, you fool! I won't let this happen!"_

_Their opponent had swelled to a massive size – any second now he was going to burst and completely obliterate everything in sight._

"_Why do you care?! Goddammit, why do you care?!"_

_Pale arms wrapped around a struggling, bloody tan body._

"_BECAUSE I-!"_

_Suddenly an explosion tore through the earth, and everything grew silent as the fire ripped through the land, disintegrating trees and animals and everything for miles._

_Slowly, the smoke dissipated, and the flames went out with nothing to feed on anymore. No one could have survived._

_And yet there were two figures at the center of the blank space of charred earth, one smoldering, the other completely still – as if shocked into paralysis. _

_Then, slowly, the first one released his grip, and fell to the dusty ground at the other's feet. Letting out a small gasp, the other kneeled down next to him. _

"_Sasuke…" he breathed in awe, in fear. "Sasuke, are you all right? Sasuke – answer me!"_

_A soft cough, and black eyes – now a shocking gray – opened. _

"_Hey…" he breathed. "Are you all right, idiot? I told you…" he sucked in a breath of pain, but continued. "I wouldn't let… anything happen to you."_

_The other couldn't understand as he pushed the other up into a sitting position, supporting the other's upper body._

"_But I don't understand it!" He exclaimed. "I don't understand it at all! You nearly killed me once, you told me you hated me – why did you just save my life?!"_

_The one being held smiled tiredly._

"_Because…" his hand twitched, rose. "I might not ever be able to redeem myself for what I've done, but at least I could do this. Why?" _

_He touched Naruto's face softly. _

"_Because I love y-"_

_Utter darkness descended._

----

Tsunade sighed as the monitor flat-lined, and she moved from the bed to walk out the door, not looking back. A blonde leaped up at her approach.

"Is he okay, Grandma?" He asked her. "Is he okay? Will he live?"

She sighed.

"He's gone, Naruto," she stated simply. "Gone. And he's not coming back this time."

She walked past Naruto, leaving him to take that however he wanted.

_Whatever the others think, I KNOW you've done it. _She thought, her eyes narrowed. _You redeemed yourself. _

She could feel him in the air.

_Sasuke Uchiha._

_Two: As A Lifestyle_

"_You wouldn't have done that to anyone else."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't have let anyone else touch you like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't let anyone else hold you like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't have let him yell at you like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't have let anyone else leave unscathed like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't have let anyone else treat you like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't let anyone else kiss you like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't let anyone else push you like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't have let anyone else fuck you like that."_

"I know."

"_You wouldn't say those things to anyone else."_

"I know."

"_You would regret it if you had done it with anyone else."_

"I know."

"_So why do you let him?"_

"SASUKE!"

He paused in his conversation with the ghosts of his past and turned to look over his shoulder. A bright smile met his eyes.

"C'mon Sasuke – how long are you gonna stand there just staring up at the sky like that? We've got things to do! C'mon!"

Sasuke smiled a little.

"_So why do you let him get so close?"_

"Well, I don't know…" he breathed inaudibly as he walked forward, allowing the other to interlace their fingers and step close, snuggling his blonde head into Sasuke's neck and making the raven laugh.

_I guess loving him is just a way of life._

_Three: As A Shield_

Darkness always tried to claim him – it taunted him, mocked him, beckoned for him to return.

Sometimes he wondered what would happen if he allowed himself to be swept into it again.

But then soft lips would descend upon his skin, gentle eyes would meet his, and all thoughts of return would be swept away with caresses of twilight and the warmth of the sun.

"_You know it's always there."_

He's always wondered if he should tell him – tell him of his constant thoughts about the shadows. He wondered if it would make the other leave him.

He didn't think he'd be able to stand it.

So he kept silent.

"Hey."

Arms took him around the shoulders from behind.

"Are you all right?"

Sleepy eyes gazed at nothing in particular.

"Yes, I'm fine." He sighed. "Just tired."

A chuckle from behind him. The warmth at his back was almost unbearable.

"Well then, come to bed. What's stopping you?"

He smiled a little at he gazed up at him.

"Nothing at all, I think."

"Okay then – let's go."

Big warm hands took his in their gentle grasp, pulled him up out of his chair by the window, and led him to the darkness of the bedroom.

He swallowed.

"Um… Naruto?"

The other turned, gazed at him.

"Hm?"

He blushed a little, looked away in nervousness.

"Naruto…" He held the blonde's hand childishly. "If I… ever left you again… would you hate me?"

Naruto gazed at him for a long moment.

"No."

Then he drew closer, eying him.

"Why? Are you planning on leaving again…?"

_He could feel the shadows clawing at his heart, at his chest, digging into his shoulder-_

"Sasuke?"

He gazed up at the blonde for a moment, then smiled a little.

He shook his head.

"No," he replied simply.

_I'm not leaving you._

Satisfied, Naruto returned the smile and – with renewed vigor – tugged the other into the bedroom.

Hours later, as the moon shone down on their shared bed, he looked over at the blonde, gazing at the sleeping face from where he rested, limbs entwined.

Raising a hand, his fingers gently traced the whisker lines on the other's cheeks, touched the scar on the other's chest.

He smiled.

Leaning forward a little, he planted a soft kiss right next to the other's eye.

"Thank you…"

_Thank you for shielding me._

"Naruto…"

_Thank you for saving me._

_Four: As Absolution _

"It's time to strip of you of your power, nine-tailed fox. And thus, you will die, and the power of the demon will become ours!"

"Stop!"

"Sasuke-!"

The only thing he could make sense of was smoke, fire, explosions and ridiculous amounts of Chakra. From where he hung, pinned to a wooden altar, he couldn't do anything.

He could only watch.

"Sasuke…"

After what seemed like forever, the dust cleared.

Stepping over the limp, mangled bodies, a figure slowly made its way towards Naruto.

The blonde swallowed.

"Sasuke…"

The raven smiled a little, gazing at him.

"Hey Naruto. Well, isn't this familiar?" He chuckled. "When will there ever be a day when you save ME, and not the other way around? After all these years, nothing's changed."

Naruto glared at him.

"Bastard, shut up!" He spat. "It's not my fault! I didn't ASK you to save me!"

"No…" Sasuke breathed softly, gazing down at Naruto's stomach, where the seal – bright and glowing – lay in plain sight. Raising a finger, he outlined the seal with his nail. His voice was quiet. "You never do, do you?"

He set his hand on Naruto's belly, letting his fingers trail upwards.

"It's okay though." Raising his eyes, he locked gazes with the blonde. "Because I'll do it anyway."

"Why…?" Naruto breathed. "Why? After all this time, after so many years? Why now? Why show up now? Why save me now?"

"Because," Sasuke replied, never breaking eye contact. "I love you."

Naruto's eyes went wide.

Stuttering, stammering, he began to laugh.

"Oh, come now, Sasuke!" He replied, chuckling weakly. "Stop being such a joker! There's no way you could-!"

"Why?"

Sasuke's question stopped Naruto in his tracks.

"Why? Why might it be so hard to believe that I have feelings for you?" A hand rose, ran through Naruto's hair. "A little tough love, and look where you are now. Strongest ninja alive in Konoha – in the running to become a forth Sannin – look at you." He smiled a little. "Look how much abandonment has strengthened you."

Naruto could feel the age-old hurt rising up at his words.

"You asshole!" He cried. "You _planned_ this?! You _planned_ on leaving me and saving me and coming back at the last instant just to tell me you LOVE me?!"

"Yes," Sasuke replied, a little amused. "In hopes that upon return you could forgive me, I suppose. And I've also come to steal your heart again. Tell me…" he got closer, his thumb on Naruto's cheek, never breaking eye contact. "Is it working?"

Naruto swallowed, not knowing how to answer. Sasuke smiled a little, already knowing what was going through the blonde's head.

"I'll take that as a yes." Lowering his head, he kissed Naruto's bare throat, making the other wince and whimper as his skin was adored.

"So am I forgiven?" He breathed into the other's ear, nibbling at it. "Do you forgive me?"

Naruto swallowed, panted.

"Yes…" he breathed. "Yes, yes I do…"

Softly, Sasuke spoke into the blonde's skin, though his voice carried a hint of malice now.

"None of them will have you…" he breathed. "The Akatsuki, Konoha… no…" he sighed. "No one… I have to protect you." Raising his head, he gazed at Naruto again. "So I've been forgiven… after so many sins I have finally found my absolution. But I fear I'll have to stain it again…" Raising a hand, he caressed Naruto's face, gazing at him. "But you shouldn't worry. It's for the best. It's the best thing for you."

Naruto blinked.

"Sasuke, what're you-?"

Then he suddenly found himself unable to breath as a sword pierced through his left lung.

Coughing, his eyes widened as he choked up blood.

"Sasuke…" he gasped in disbelief, gazing at the other. "Sasuke, what-?"

"It's for the best," he breathed reassuringly. "As long as you are alive with that fox inside of you, you will keep being hunted and you will keep suffering. But this way, you can rest in peace, and I can go to hell in your place. So forgive me, okay? It's okay, Naruto…"

The sword dragged itself upwards, circled around Naruto's heart, isolating it, slicing through all of the major arteries. Death would come in seconds.

"It's okay."

Blood bubbled up from deep inside Naruto's throat.

"Sa… Sasuke…" He breathed raggedly, eyes wide and glazing over. "Sasu…ke…"

Then he could only manage to gurgle as blood blocked his airways and spilled out between his lips, dripping onto Sasuke's clothes and the floor, seeping to gloss his own chest.

Leaning forward, Sasuke kissed him.

"I love you, Naruto."

Then he reached up, and softly closed Naruto's glassy, unseeing eyes.

He took a step back, yanked his sword out of the bloody chest. Then, reaching in, he gripped the still, warm muscle, and pulled it out, holding it almost gently in his hand.

"I need to, Naruto," he told the lifeless body, his eyes shining and a tiny smile on his face. "They'd be able to get to the demon inside you if your heart's still in your chest. That's why I'm taking it for safe-keeping. I'll take good care of it, I swear. And, I know it's a little selfish, but…" he ran his fingers through the blonde locks. "I just really wanted it for myself, too. I don't think I'd be able to stand the idea of someone else having it, so I'm taking it. See? It's good for both of us. Konoha and the other countries are saved, and I get your heart to keep forever. I'll treasure it, so you don't have to worry about a thing. So please sleep well, okay?"

He smiled widely at the body, holding the blonde's bloody, dripping heart in his hand.

"I know it'll be hard for you, but…"

He kissed the other one last time.

"Forgive me, Naruto."

Then he turned and left, closing the doors behind him, and leaving the body in blackness.

"I love you…"

To be lost in darkness forever.

"Naruto…"

**End Four Ways: **

**Love**

**So another Four Ways. I do enjoy this one.**

**Favorite: THE LAST ONE. DUH.**

**Though it kinda hurt me to write it. :(**

**I don't know if they're all going to be NaruSasu, but these last two installments were. **

**The pairings will probably vary though.**

**It'll give me a chance to try to work outside of my box! :D**

**Hoped you liked it! If you're mad at me, I understand. **

**Ja ne!**

**DDB**


	3. Heart

**So yeah. Yet another one.**

**Show this one some love guys. Please? :3**

**My favorite to date!  
**

**Four Ways to Look At A: **

**Heart**

_As A Symbol:_

"Happy Valentine's Day, Sasuke!"

A pink paper heart was thrust into his hands, and he blinked in confusion.

"Valentine's Day?" He echoed curiously, before looking up at her. He noticed vaguely that the color's paper was exactly the color of her hair. "What's this Valentine's Day?"

She blinked.

"What? Sasuke, you've never heard of that before?"

Sasuke blinked, scowled. She took that as her cue – before he got angry.

"Valentine's Day is a day of merriment and happiness! It's a day to declare your love for a person, or to celebrate the love you already have for a person."

Sasuke gazed at her questioningly.

"And how do you do that? By giving them silly paper hearts?"

She pouted.

"They're not silly, Sasuke! That heart in your hands is the universal symbol of love!"

Sasuke blinked, this time in thought.

"Love…?"

She nodded, crossed her arms, and shook her head.

"Yes! Jeez Sasuke – I can't believe you've never heard of it! And you're HOW old?!"

Sasuke blinked. Oh. So that's why piles of pink and red things always appeared on his doorstep every year.

But he hadn't known it was a special occasion or anything. He had just assumed it was the tradition of some sort of freak fan-girl cult.

He never bothered to notice all the hearts and confetti and love potions floating around.

Sasuke Uchiha was a bit dense when he wanted to be.

"So this… _thing_…" He waved the paper heart in front of her. "This silly little paper heart is supposed to represent love?"

She nodded.

"Yes! Like I said, the universal symbol! Everybody knows what it means!"

Sasuke blinked, looked down at it. It seemed so fragile in his hands.

Too fragile to hold such a harsh burden like love.

"…Okay." He turned away, still holding it in his hands. "Thanks Sakura."

She beamed, waved him off.

"Happy Valentine's Day Sasuke!"

----

Back at the Uchiha compound, Sasuke simply stood there, staring at the heart in his hands for a few moments.

He was skeptical.

"Can this thing really represent love?" He asked himself quietly. "Love – in all its forms? This tiny paper heart?"

He wanted to rip it in half – just to prove to himself that no, it couldn't, and Sakura was a liar.

He realized his hands had gripped the heart to do just that.

But then, as he gazed at it, he realized the paper heart was too fragile, too tiny to rip.

_Just like the heart it represents. _

Taking the heart in hand, he walked through the empty house to his mother's empty workshop, found the drawer where she kept the construction paper, and got some scissors from the kitchen.

He spent many hours sitting at the lonesome dining room table. At first he didn't know how to cut out a heart, so many sheets of paper were wasted with hearts that didn't look good or didn't look like hearts at all. Finally he realized that by folding the paper in half he could make a symmetrical heart, and after few tries he managed to make one that he liked.

Then he focused on making the biggest heart possible, taping together pieces upon pieces of paper before cutting them and unfolding it, laying it out to admire his work.

The big one looked bad. All taped up and falling apart, covered with different shades of pink and red. He pursed his lips as he looked at it.

Then his eyes went to the tiny pink heart next to his elbow.

Then he realized that no matter how big he made it, it would never be big enough.

His heart heavy and his fingers and palms sore, he instead took a single sheet of red paper, folded it, drew a line with a pencil, and cut out a heart – not as tiny as the pink one, but not as big as the entire page either.

Unfolding it, he gazed at it, and sighed.

Standing up, he took a candle from one of the holders along the wall, and walked along the empty passageway, the dusty and forlorn doors on either side.

His own paper heart was in his other hand.

Kneeling down, he pulled the rug away, opened the door, and made his way silently down the stairs.

Taking the candle in hand, he lit the other ones at the bottom. And, slowly, set the little red heart to where it leaned against the picture.

Slowly, he got onto his knees, simply gazing at the halo of light.

He knew the heart would never be big enough – knew a simple piece of paper would never truly convey all the meanings and levels and pains love brought-

He raised his hands, clasped them.

But maybe, just maybe... even thought the heart was tiny and the message too huge for such a fragile little shape-

Bowed his head.

Just maybe, they would know what he meant.

He closed his eyes.

"Happy Valentine's Day… Mother, Father."

_I love you._

The heart was the universal symbol, after all.

_As A Muscle:_

"_He's dying – he's dying!"_

Those were the only words going through his mind as he watched the other members of the team carry the body into the medical tent, where he was sitting with wounds of his own, his Chakra being used to rejuvenate the medical ninja. Orders from Tsunade herself.

There had been too many deaths already.

He merely watched as the other was brought into the tent, set down in front of the top doctors.

"He's been injected with poison in the chest!" One of the ninjas informed the tent as nurses swarmed to get the fallen ninja prepped.

Exchanging glances with the man in the corner, Tsunade hissed and spat angrily.

"We'll have to cut him open – isolate his heart and bleed the poison out of the arteries before it reaches the muscle. Let's do it!"

She turned to the man in the corner, motioned to him. Silently, he stood and walked over to her.

"Help me," she ordered. Ordered, not asked.

She knew he didn't listen to questions.

Silently, he raised a hand, set it on her shoulder as the bright blue aura of Chakra surrounded him, and spread to her.

With his power aiding hers, Tsunade ripped open the injured ninja's shirt and revealed the ugly purple wound that had entered right near the left bottom portion of the man's ribcage.

"Shit!" Tsunade cursed, raising a finger as it began to glow a vicious blue, turning into a blade made of solid Chakra – precise enough it seemed to slice through dimensions. "It's already nearly to his heart – why didn't you bring him to me sooner?!"

Taking her finger to his chest, she pressed down, slicing him open deep in the chest, cutting through his breast plate as if it were paper. The fiery energy of the Chakra seared the veins cut closed, posing as temporary flood clamps to stop the bleeding.

She peeled the skin and muscle away, clamped them down, revealing the pale, starch white calcium of the breast plate, a clean line through it. Everyone in the room could feel the bumping muscle beneath rather than hear it, could barely see the thin sliver of visible muscle pushing against the bone, fighting to do its duty – to keep the body it was in alive so it itself could stay alive-

Then, setting her palms against either side of the visible chest plate, Tsunade pushed down, cleanly snapped the bone into two separate pieces, and folded those aside as well.

So the heart was now revealed.

His eyes widened.

He had never seen a real heart before. He had seen pictures of it, illustrations of it, had stabbed his fist through it, had felt the beating fade to nothing or speed up to oblivious bliss beneath his fingers – but had never really seen it.

It fascinated him.

As Tsunade worked, he could only stare. When a part of her arm or head was in the way, he could still see it in his mind's eye.

_Do I have such a thing in my chest too?_

Such a tiny muscle – the size of his fist maybe – beating, at first frantically due to the adrenaline that still rushed through the man's system, but then slowing down as the hormone disappeared, but then frantically again as the poison entered it, beating frantically to expel it, get rid of it, drown it.

_That tiny muscle… _he thought as Tsunade began to panic, hysterically slicing through the arteries that led to the heart in hopes of stopping the poison, but it was already too late.

He watched, fascinated, as the tender, dark red muscle – so frail-looking and yet without it one couldn't survive – began to change color. First to purple, then to black, turning ashy and black and gray and beginning to cripple as if being squeezed by a ruthless hand, crumpling like paper.

"No!" Tsunade cried, sending her energy into the heart, trying to rejuvenate it and to burn away the poison. Her energy wasn't potent enough – he knew. "NONONO!"

As he watched, he began to panic as well. No – he didn't want to watch it die, didn't want to watch the strength of all life fade before his eyes – he could already feel his own heart blackening along with the other's.

_No. No no no. Don't die, don't die._

He didn't care about the man, didn't care about him at all.

He cared about the man's heart. The living, beating, thriving muscle he had now seen was now decaying into nothing.

_Nothing like that should fall from grace. _

Silently – almost as panicked as Tsunade was – he reached forward, pushed Tsunade's bloody hand away, and set his own palm on the frail, dying, dead muscle, sending his own red hot energy – barely controlled – into the blackness, ordering it to live.

_You will not die!_

Some part of him – if the heart failed to come alive again – would die too. He knew it.

Tsunade gasped and set her hands on his, trying to regulate his energy into something more stable.

But the poison had been all burned away. When subjected to the fiery wrath of his electric blue Chakra, it had stood no chance, but the damage had been done.

The man wasn't breathing anymore.

But he didn't care.

The heart wasn't beating anymore.

For some reason he felt close to crying.

_Beat. Beat. Live. Live._

Using his energy, Tsunade breathed life back into the muscle, inflating it and filling it with life. The color changed, the artery to bring blood to the heart was reattached – the circle was complete again.

Tsunade sent a jolt into the muscle, making it beat.

Then she waited to see if it would continue on its own.

Nothing. She tried again.

It was silent.

The third time he helped, his blue Chakra intermingling with Tsunade's green. The shock sizzled around the dark red meat, and he prayed.

_Please live._

It was silent, then a resounding ba-bump filled the suddenly silent medical tent, and Tsunade's eyes widened.

The sound came again, stronger this time. The third time it was faster, more eager to serve.

He began to breathe again.

Tsunade smiled.

"He'll make it," she informed the rest of the tent. Then she proceeded to replace the bone and muscle and skin.

He watched until the bone hid the ever-stronger muscle from view, and then he left, stepping onto an empty battlefield.

The war had been won.

-----

"Hey."

He looked around from where he stood, the Chakra seals back upon his skin and blazing red. His shirt was off, his fingers lightly resisting on the center of his chest, feeling his own heart beating right beneath the skin and wondering if his heart looked as amazing as that other man's.

He had to resist the urge to open up his chest and find out.

His eyes, however, were blank as she walked over to him.

"You DO realize you saved his life, right?"

He blinked, shrugged.

"Yeah. And?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Why did you do it?"

He smirked a little.

"Why do any of us do it?"

Her eyes sharpened.

"Answer my question."

His smirk widened a little into a smile, and he shrugged again, stepping away from the mirror and taking hold of the shirt he had draped over a nearby chair. "Because," he stated simply, tugging the shirt over his head and then sticking his hands into his pockets. He walked past her down the hallway. "I realized I respect it."

Confused, she turned to watch him walk away.

"Respect what?"

He paused, turned a little to look at her.

"That muscle."

She blinked.

"Muscle?"

He smiled a little, his eyes fond in memory.

"The heart."

_As A Weakness:_

"Your heart is what makes you weak."

A gasping breath, blood dripped from pale white lips.

Lips that were slowly turning blue.

"N-no, stop…" he gasped. "What're you talking about? Stop it!"

The other smiled.

"Your heart is what makes you weak, Sasuke," he stated simply. "Should you get rid of your heart, you will become strong."

"N-no…" he grunted out, swallowing thickly and then choking on the blood he had just swallowed. "It's not… not a weakness…"

"Really now?"

A slender hand took hold of the impaled sword, twisted it ruthlessly. Sasuke gasped, more blood dripped from his lips – he could feel the liquid in the crevices between his teeth, and it sickened him.

"This sword is in your heart," the other breathed icily as Sasuke coughed raggedly, turning his face away. "This sword is in your weakness. Let me cut it out Sasuke. I cut it out, you'll become strong. Strong enough to get anything you want. Strong enough to take your revenge."

"N-no…" Sasuke gasped, barely able to see, his mind and vision swimming. "Not a weakness, not a weakness…"

"I don't believe you."

The sword was pushed in deeper. Sasuke whimpered.

"If your heart is not a weakness, than what is it?"

Sasuke wondered how he could still be alive.

"My heart…" he breathed, refusing to look down at the steel protruding from his chest. "My heart… my heart… Don't take it out. Please don't take it out."

"And why not?" The blade was pushed up a little bit into the faintly beating muscle; Sasuke felt light-headed, faint. He was going to die soon – he knew it.

"My heart…" he gasped, panted, heaved. "My heart… is what…"

He swallowed.

"_My heart is what makes me human."_

He closed his eyes.

-----

Those same eyes snapped open, and he sat up, scowling at the darkness of the room.

_That same dream again. Che._

Raising a hand, he ran his fingers through his hair.

"Stupid…" he muttered blankly, tugging the covers off him and getting out of the bed.

Padding across the dark room, he flipped the light switch that turned on his bedside lamp, and then walked across the room again, retracing his steps – this time to a full length mirror that hung on the wall next to his dresser.

Unabashedly, he looked at himself. First at his feet, his legs, his hips, his abdomen.

Then his eyes landed on his chest.

In the center of his breast plate, an ugly, crooked scar sat, clearly separating his right pectoral muscle from the left.

Raising his hand, he set his fingers against it, feeling the skin, trying to feel the warmth.

His skin was icy cold. Not surprising.

He closed his eyes. Trying to listen – trying to feel.

He felt no movement.

Heard no heartbeat.

He opened his eyes.

"_A forbidden jutsu is keeping you alive." _He remembered those icy words. _"And I am the one in control of it. Disobey me, and I will not hesitate to kill you, my little pet."_

He smirked dryly.

"So I truly am his tool now…"

He didn't care. Hadn't cared for several years now.

Then he turned, eying the shelf next to his bed. Walking over to it, he stopped in front of it, gazing at the many levels.

On the many shelves sat – all identical – glass jars.

Inside these jars sat human hearts. All neatly labeled with the name of the person he had torn it out of, along with the date and location. He had been very vigilant with remembering that data.

He felt it… imperative.

He was truly proud of his collection. Any time the opportunity presented itself he would steal the other's heart. Some of the hearts were of foes… others were of friends.

But he didn't mind. Hadn't minded for several years now.

Crossing his arms, he gazed at them, starting from the top – the most recent ones. Gazing at them, studying them for hours, he was now capable of studying the differences in the preserved hearts.

The bigger they were, the healthier, physically stronger the fighter was. A man eight feet tall that Sasuke had killed less than a month back had the largest heart to date – three times larger than the average heart he had. If the heart was black in some places, Sasuke was able to tell if the person had had heart problems where they had needed surgery – sometimes on multiple occasions. Scars in the muscle informed him of past clashes with blade and power – a scratch here, a jagged scar there. Based on the health of the heart, he could tell if the person had smoked, or if they had had a poor diet.

The physical heart told him more than speaking to the person could ever tell him.

His eyes reached the dead center of the shelves, where two especially precious jars sat right next to each other.

The one on the right was his own – he thought his heart was particularly the deepest in red color. The preservative was a clear liquid, so nothing was hidden from him. He supposed it was his thirst for blood back then – and now even – that had stained his heart such a gorgeous color. No other heart in his collection could match it.

Well, except one maybe.

He took a long moment to gaze at his own heart. Even years after, he still found it hard to believe that this was the same muscle his master had cut out.

But, ah. The long, ugly scar upon it – an even darker, more luxurious shade of red than the rest of the muscle – proved to him that it indeed was his.

He sometimes thought that the heart changed colors depending on his mood – on how much blood he had shed that day.

Then he wondered if that muscle was still connected to him somehow.

He doubted it.

But he touched the empty space in his chest anyway.

Then his eyes went to the jar next to his.

This heart he admired nearly as much as he did his own. Unlike his, this heart was a fiery red and nearly halfway bulged – as if it were just getting ready to beat again. He had no idea how he had managed to preserve it like that – sometimes he wondered if that heart was still alive – if it beat quietly to itself while he was asleep or out of the room.

Sometimes he wondered if all the other hearts did that too.

But this other heart was very special. It was a bit bigger than his own – because of the way it was preserved in half-beat – and a nice little scar covered the lower left piece. He remembered the day that scar was probably made, and it made him smile.

He was proud of that little scar. He had turned the jar where it was visible to all.

He had also made sure to hide the back of the heart, where one would discover a little chunk of it was missing.

Heh – he couldn't have resisted.

Taking a bite of that heart.

He had wondered if the other had been able to feel it – even though they had been dead when Sasuke had held that weakly beating muscle in his hand, like it was trying to even then escape him.

His fist had tightened, and he had vowed he would never let that heart go.

It was too precious to him – he just hadn't known any other way to express it.

When he looked over at his own heart – the first in the series, preserved perfectly in its little glass jar – he knew why.

But he didn't care.

His eyes went to the labeling at the bottom of the jar.

_Konoha's Two-Hundredth Birthday, the Hokage Tower, the Day He Became Rokudaime._

He smiled a little.

_Uzumaki, Naruto._

Maybe his master had been right. Maybe his heart HAD been a weakness. His eyes went over the other hearts, which were also set on that same shelf.

_The Festival of Cherry Blossoms, Konoha Park: Haruno, Sakura_

_The Thirtieth Anniversary of the Nine-Tailed Fox Attack, The Village Hidden in the Stars: Hatake, Kakashi_

_Hokage Day, The Land of Rice Patties: Sannin, Tsunade_

_The Eighteenth Anniversary of the Uchiha Massacre, Konoha Graveyard: Uchiha, Itachi_

The list went on – he would think he had every single rookie nine heart in his collection, along with the Toad Master and the head of the Hyuuga clan. The life-forces of the annoying ninja duo with the crazy green jumpsuits and the prodigy of the Byakugon were also his to keep and cherish.

Konoha was gone, destroyed – wiped off the face of the earth. His master ruled with iron scales and fangs of ivory. The remains of the Akatsuki were being hunted – Sasuke was to be put on a mission tomorrow to go crush Deidara where he was hiding with his silly clay dragons and landmines. Having faced him once before, Sasuke already knew exactly how the battle was going to play out.

He was going to win, and Deidara's heart was going to be his. To put between Kisame's and Pein's.

His master was on top of the world. All because he got it into his head to cut Sasuke's heart out. Sasuke had done the rest. Almost without being told. It was just… _instinctive_.

His eyes went to Naruto's heart again. Vaguely, he wondered if Naruto would've become so strong had his heart been yanked away.

But, no. He shook his head. Naruto's power _was _his heart.

That's what made his heart so special. Because cruelty and chill overcame passion and determination. Sasuke had proven that the day he had killed Naruto in front of hundreds of people atop the Hokage Tower.

He hadn't wanted Naruto's body – hadn't wanted the nine-tailed fox. The demon had died with Naruto.

No, he had just wanted Naruto's heart. The body had been thrown over the edge of the tower to impale itself upon the people below.

The day after, Konoha was burned to the ground. Nothing remained of it now.

Only his master's face everywhere, with his obedient, silent pet forever by his side.

He wondered if Naruto hated him from wherever he was now. Probably.

But he didn't care.

Then his eyes went to his own heart. Reaching out, he took it from the shelf, cradling it in both hands.

"My weakness…" he breathed. "If it is my weakness… then why am I keeping it?"

Suddenly he was overtaken with a senseless rage as he finally realized. There was nothing now. Nothing to kill, no more hearts to tear out of bloody dead chests. What was the point of his collection if he couldn't expand it? It was worthless now.

The collection of weaknesses was worthless now.

Enraged, he took the jar, and threw it towards the others.

Glass shattered, liquid poured over the floor, weaknesses were impaled by sand turned beautiful by flame.

Every single glass jar shattered, broken, became even more worthless than the weakness inside it.

Except one.

One jar remained. After Sasuke's rage had passed and he was able to think clearly again, he realized it.

One heart remained. Untouched, liquid from other jars dripping down the untouched, unmarked glass.

Blinking, Sasuke walked over to it, padding lightly around the glass shards.

Reaching out, he took the jar in hand, gazed at it.

The label was ruined, but he recognized the heart.

The one with the scar on the bottom right part. The one with the teeth marks in the back.

The one that still seemed alive.

"Naruto."

At a loss for words, he gazed at the heart – gazed at the heart that seemed like it was going to start beating again at any moment.

As he gazed at it, his eyes narrowed. Just a little.

"Maybe… it wasn't a weakness after all…"

_As A Trophy:_

"It doesn't matter that I love you, does it?"

He paused, staring down at the other in shock. There was thunder above him, the ground lit up with lightning. There would be rain soon.

"Wh-what…?" He breathed as he stared down into black orbs. "What – why? What do you mean?"

"I would've thought it obvious."

The voice was blunt, knowing.

"It doesn't matter that I love you, does it?"

He swallowed.

"I…" he stammered. "I-I…"

"You're right, it doesn't matter," the other stated, closing his eyes and looking away. "You have your orders. So just do it. You'll get in trouble if you don't."

His throat had gone dry.

"Sasuke…"

He closed his eyes.

"WHY?!" He demanded, flinching away. "WHY?! WHY EVEN BOTHER TELLING ME THIS NOW?!"

"Because." Sasuke sighed. "I thought you might want to know before you killed me, Naruto. That's all. It's okay if it doesn't matter. I'm okay with dying. Heh…" he smirked grimly. "I knew it was coming. I've known it was coming for a good few years now."

"And you…" Naruto breathed, staring down at the other. "I don't believe you!" He exclaimed. "I don't believe you do! I think you're just telling me that so I'll let you go! You heartless bastard!"

Suddenly their positions were switched – Naruto was on the bottom now, Sasuke straddling him.

"You're right," he breathed. The cold, chilling voice made Naruto want to cry. "You're right. Completely. I don't have a heart."

Then he leaned down a bit, and kissed Naruto softly – barely a grace of the lips.

When he spoke again, it was warmer.

"I don't have a heart because I gave it to you."

Naruto's eyes widened as Sasuke continued.

"But, if you want…"

Sasuke took Naruto's hand, set it on his chest – right over his heart.

"You can take it out yourself. You can give the old woman my body, keep the heart for yourself. It'd be like a trophy. Wouldn't you like that?"

Naruto stared up at him in shock.

"Sasuke, that's sick!"

"But it's what you want."

Sasuke pushed Naruto's hand against his chest insistently.

"That's what both of us want. You've always wanted my heart, and I've always wanted you to have it. Take it Naruto. Do it."

Naruto flinched away, his hand curling into a fist.

"No! I can't! I won't! Don't tell me that!"

Sasuke gave him an even gaze.

"Please, Naruto."

Sasuke's blade was held to Naruto's throat, his eyes red and alight with the Mangeyokou.

Oh, yes. He had that now. He had killed Itachi.

For threatening Naruto.

Why hadn't the blonde realized it before?

"I don't want your heart Sasuke."

"Yes you do."

The Sharingan swirled with a greater intensity.

"I will kill you over and over again until you do. I _want _this Naruto – do it!"

Naruto was enraged.

"You WANT to die?!" He snapped, snarling. Sasuke blinked, smirked.

"Yes," he stated. "Yes. Yes I do."

Taking Naruto's hand in his again, Sasuke pressed Naruto's nails – which had sharpened due to the fox – against his bare chest.

"Do it, please. Keep it for yourself – preserve it, coat it in gold – I don't care. Just keep it safe, keep it yours. No one else can have it – I won't give it to the earth. Let them take anything from me – just not my heart."

He pressed Naruto's nails into his chest. They began to puncture bare skin.

"After all, that belongs to you."

Naruto's eyes had widened. Now they were narrowed.

"You're a fool Sasuke."

"It runs in the family."

"Shut up!"

Naruto pushed Sasuke away, making the other's back hit the stony ground, five pinpricks of blood – in a circle – on the pale, perfect chest. The smell of blood hit the blonde's nostrils, and he had to fight against the instinct to rip Sasuke to shreds.

"Get out of here Sasuke…" he muttered. "Get out of here. Now. Do it!"

Sasuke shifted, sat up, looked at him.

Spoke a single word.

"No."

Enraged, Naruto launched himself at Sasuke, tackling him headlong and sending them rolling across the stone and into the water.

Gasping, they both raised their heads for air, but Naruto took Sasuke by the jaw and threw him bodily out of the lake, sending him crashing into the sheer rock wall nearby.

"You want me to have your heart Sasuke…?" He growled heatedly – the fox had nearly taken control of all of Naruto's common sense. "You really want that?!" Without waiting for an answer, he lunged forward. "FINE!"

His nails – the same nails Sasuke had invited – struck the Uchiha in the chest, the hand nearly vanishing to the wrist as the nails struck the breast plate, broke through it, shattered it, to reach the heart the Uchiha so desperately wanted the other to have.

The Uchiha gasped, shuddered, whimpered as merciless fingers wrapped around the tender beating heart. It tried to beat even beneath the grip, but the response was tightening fingers and a heated snarl.

There was silence for an instant.

"Is this what you wanted?" Naruto breathed softly. Sasuke raised his head to look up at him.

He gazed up into the red eyes of the demon fox.

He smiled a little.

"I couldn't think of…" he gasped. "A better way to die…"

Naruto gazed evenly at him and Sasuke – for a moment – thought he could see Naruto from their childhood gazing back at him.

But, ah of course. That was the past. They were men now.

And one of them was about to die.

"You're going to die so easily?" Naruto asked – as if the full weight of what was happening was finally sinking in. "You're going to let me kill you? Just like that?"

Sasuke chuckled a little.

"Of course," he replied. "After leading such a fulfilled life such as mine, you have nothing else to do with yourself _but _die."

Sarcasm. A hint of bitterness. Naruto sighed.

"You really don't believe that at all…" he breathed. "Do you…" raising his eyes, he looked up at the other. "Sasuke?"

The Uchiha could only smile. If he had an answer to that, he didn't say it.

"Just take care of it," he breathed, closing his eyes. "That's the only thing I want… after death."

Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"You treat death like it's not death at all," he commented – almost snarled.

Sasuke's eyes opened just enough for the Uchiha to look up at him through his lashes.

"That's because…" he breathed. "It's _not_."

Then Naruto was ripping his heart out and Sasuke's eyes were glazing and becoming dull and full of nothing and all and yet everything and his head was lolling back and becoming lifeless like the puppet that he had been all his life.

Naruto stepped back, allowed the body to fall to the earth, and gazed at the still-struggling muscle in his hands.

"Sasuke…" he breathed. "You're…" his fingers clenched. "_Pathetic_."

He made as if to throw the muscle into the lake, but paused, lowering his arm and gazing at it.

"Sasuke…" he murmured. "You're…" his eyes closed. "_Right_."

Holding the heart to his chest, he turned and scaled the cliff.

When the retrieval team arrived, they would ask questions, and he needed to be ready.

-----

"Naruto."

He looked up a day later.

"Aye, old hag?"

Tsunade's eye twitched, but she continued.

"The retrieval team informed me that Sasuke Uchiha was punched through the heart."

Naruto blinked.

"Right. And?"

Tsunade raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well? Where is it?"

Naruto didn't blink.

"I ate it."

One couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

-----

Upon getting back to his apartment, Naruto closed all the windows and drew all the blinds.

Stepping into the kitchen, he opened the freezer door of his refrigerator and pulled out a simple plastic bag.

Inside laid Sasuke's heart, frozen and preserved.

He felt a little bad though. Sticking Sasuke's heart in a freezer wasn't exactly equivalent to coating it in gold.

But he could think of no other way.

He sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," he breathed.

Gazing at the heart for one more moment, he placed it once more in the back of his freezer and closed the door.

As he sat on the couch sharpening his weapons, he smiled a little.

Sure, he hadn't given it its dues, but that didn't matter.

The fact that he had Sasuke's heart in the first place was more of a trophy than anything else.

**End Four Ways:**

**Scar**

**Favorite one out of this batch: Number three - As A Weakness.**

**That's just too damn sexy. :3**

**Longest group to date as well. This clocks in at twenty pages.**

**Review, my lovelies?**

**Much LOVE! 3**

**Ja ne!**

**DDB  
**


	4. Snow

**I really, really love this series. :]**

**I hope you all love it as well in the end!  
**

**Four Ways to Look At:**

**Snow**

_As Death:_

"The snow is coming down way too hard!" The voice sounded faint over the swirling, angry flurries of wind. "We need to find shelter! I knew we shouldn't have come this way!"

"Shut up!" The figure in front roared back. "I have enough to deal with without you yelling at me! Fuck!" He turned to face the front again, but it didn't matter, because he _swore_ he had seen that tree before. "Dammit! I'm frozen to my bones!"

"We should've gotten a guide!" The figure behind him called back. "You idiot, we never should've left the village! We should've listened to the man in the shop-"

"SHUT UP!" The man roared even louder above the freezing wind. "I DON'T NEED YOUR COMMENTARY!" He turned back, trudged on. But water was getting into his boots, the wind into his jacket. He couldn't feel his toes nor fingers nor nose. "We'll get there..." he huffed as he sloshed on through the snow, which was now up to his knees. "We'll get there. I know we will."

* * *

The morning after, the snow had stopped, leaving everything in a crisp, fluffy layer of white.

Two figures traveled through the trees, hoping from branch to branch. But then the one behind looked down to see two lumps in the snow. He paused.

"Zabuza."

The man in front stopped as well, turning to face the smaller male.

"What is it, Haku?"

The boy pointed to the ground almost by his feet.

"Down there. Do you see that?"

Zabuza hoped over to him, and he looked down to see what Haku was seeing. He blinked.

"Hm," he grunted. "Is that... a head?"

Haku's lips pursed from behind the mask.

"Two heads, Zabuza."

After a beat, Zabuza jumped down from the tree to land in front of the mound, Haku shortly following. Using gruff hands clothed in protective gloves, he brushed the snow aside. Haku's face fell, but he shouldn't have been surprised. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened.

"Oh..."

Zabuza leaned back onto his toes.

"Yep," he confirmed. "Two of them. Frozen solid." He raised an eyebrow, and began to eye the bodies. "I wonder if they have anything worth taking..."

"Zabuza, this was the couple that left the store where we were," Haku pleaded, almost urgently. "They're just commoners - please don't do that to them!"

Zabuza turned his head to raise an eyebrow at the boy.

"Haku, they're dead," he stated. "Who cares?"

Haku took off his mask - both out of respect for the dead, and so that his frown at the man would be visible.

"I do. Please don't. Let's bury them, please? We can't just leave them here."

Zabuza grunted and stood, hefting his sword back over his shoulder with one hand.

"O' contraire. We can and we are." He turned to leave. "Let's go Haku."

But Haku didn't move. Zabuza turned to glare at him.

_"Haku." _

Haku took one more moment, torn between giving the two poor souls a proper burial and following the only person close enough to consider family.

"But..."

After another moment, he sighed, then reached into the folds of his cloak.

He took out a smooth stone that was the color of daylight, bright gold and shining in the sun. He kneeled, putting the stone in between the two where they had huddled up for warmth at the base of a massive tree.

"I am sorry for both of you," he breathed. "Please forgive our rude passing, and I hope you find joy where you are." He patted the stone. "This has held the warmth of my heart for many, many years. Please take it, and let its power warm your poor, chillen souls.

Then he turned, and, with a heavy heart, leaped up into the trees to follow Zabuza towards their next destination as the stone shone in the daylight behind him.

_As Play:_

"Come on, Zabuza! Don't be a stick in the mud!"

"Grah! Haku! Come on, we don't have time for this!"

"Yes we do! Come on, Zabuza! You know you want to!"

"Haku, will you shut up and get down here? You're making a scene!"

"Only if you have some fun first!"

"No."

"Zabuza!"

"Haku! Seriously, this is the last time I will say this! Get the fuck-!" A snowball hit Zabuza square in the face. "...down here..."

Haku beamed at him from where he was hanging upside-down from a iced tree branch.

"Will you play NOW?"

Zabuza, scowling, wiped the snow off his face.

"You're absurd. Why did I even bother saving you?"

Haku, pouting, threw another one at him. He neatly dodged.

"Don't talk like that! Come on, Zabuza! The snow is fresh! It's wonderful! We can build a snowman and a fort and an igloo-"

"Haku, I am not training you to build snowmen or forts or igloos!" Zabuza snapped. "I am training you to become a ninja! An assassin of the mists! Now stop messing around like a child and get down here!"

Haku merely gazed at him. "But I AM a child," he replied simply. "I can't help it. I want to play. Can we have just ONE day of recreation Zabuza? Please?" His next words were sincere. "I want to have fun with you. Please? I wanna see you smile."

_Yeah. Like THAT'S ever gonna happen. _The ninja thought, scowling. But the snow was so white, and Haku's eyes so pleading, that he merely sighed and hefted his sword back over his shoulder.

"Fine," he stated, making Haku's entire being brighten. "For a little while. But no more."

But as Haku jumped down and ran to him, beaming, Zabuza could tell that it wasn't going to be just 'a little while'.

However, somehow he found himself not really minding.

A few hours later, they were cold, tired, covered in snow, and absolutely thrilled. Haku was beaming, and Zabuza, as he crawled outside the igloo they had made, with a bunch of snowman-ninja in front of them guarding their fortress (Haku had insisted) was convincing himself that there was a scowl (and not a smile) on his face.

"Happy now, Haku?" He asked as the child crawled out as well. Sitting on his haunches after escaping, he giggled.

"Haha, yeah!" He replied cheerfully. "I really, really liked it! Thank you!"

The corner of Zabuza's lip twitched.

"Glad you enjoyed yourself," he stated, gruff as he could. "Now let's go. We've wasted enough time."

Haku patted the igloo one last time before dodging around the snowmen and jogging over to Zabuza, laughing merrily. Still smiling, he snuggled up to Zabuza, making the older man shoot him a look and bump him away.

"Hey! None of that!"

The boy pouted for a moment, and then, a little defeated, walked alongside Zabuza for a while.

Wow. That dejected look on his face. Zabuza almost felt _bad_.

So when the child tentatively snuck his hand in Zabuza's, the ninja did nothing to stop him. He didn't even say anything.

He just tightened his grip. Just a little bit.

_As Beauty:_

"Zabuza! Come on, get out of bed! You're missing it!"

Knowing who it was made the shoulder-shaking afterwards a bit more tolerable, but it still made Zabuza irritable.

"Haku, go back to sleep. Please. It was a long day yesterday."

The boy was insistent. "But the snow, Zabuza! The snow!"

This made the man perk up, and he lifted his head a little out of the pillow. Snow? He got up, grabbed his robe and went out the door, following Haku's excited heels.

"Wow."

"Yeah. Told you!"

"Oh hush, Haku."

Freshly fallen snow sparkled for miles, the new morning sun shining down and making everything glitter in the crisp early-morning air. The two ninja stood on a hill, looking out over the Land of Water in all its frozen glory. Icicles shone in the sunlight where they dangled from tree branches, making arcs of rainbows shine down upon the snowy ground.

Birds slowly but surely awoke, and, sitting there like balls of fluff, began to sing to the morning, at first hesitantly, but with more vigor. Soon the entire sky was abound in voices like a mighty chorus.

There was no wind. Everything was still, unmoving. From far across the land the dim shapes of hawks could be seen circling, but they were miniscule dots in the majestic landscape, soon forgotten.

Time had stopped. It was just them. Haku and Zabuza. For that morning, they were the only people in the world.

Haku's eyes sparkled. Just like the snow.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Zabuza took a moment. And then he smiled too from beneath his bandages.

"Yes. It is."

_As Home:_

"Zabuza, I don't understand why we have to be here!"

He sighed, then turned to the child.

"I know it's weird, Haku," he began. "But the Land of Water just isn't safe for us right now. We are rogues - hunted by our people. You must understand that and you must be patient."

Haku pouted.

"I know that. But..." he trailed off. "I've just... I've never been away before." He looked around. "All this color... all this dry ground... it's weird to me. I don't like it. It's too hot."

Zabuza sighed in exasperation.

"Haku, I don't care," he stated simply. A little harshly. "In order for us to survive, we need to deal with this. Together. As in no complaining. Or, if you like, I can drop you at the nearest door and leave you there."

Haku gasped, and ran to Zabuza, grabbing hold of his waist.

"No. Nonono!" He exclaimed, making Zabuza roll his eyes. He hoped the child would mature quickly. "Please, not here! Please don't leave me in this place!"

Zabuza shook his head, pushing Haku away.

"Relax, brat," he replied. "It was a threat. Doesn't mean I'm going to follow through with it."

Haku blinked.

"You always tell me to never give threats I can't follow through with."

Zabuza raised an eyebrow at the boy, and even paused in his step to continue the conversation.

"Just because I'm not going to follow through with it doesn't mean that I can't," he stated simply. "I can still follow through with it." He gave Haku a level stare. "Why? Do you want me to?"

Haku gawked.

"No! No I don't!" He pouted. "Please. I won't say anything anymore. I'm sorry."

Without saying another word in response, Zabuza turned and continued to walk. His point had been proven.

The rest of the time they wandered, Haku only had dreams of snow and wind and rain, and when he woke up to dry and dust he could feel just a little of himself wither inside.

Zabuza noticed the change, and he knew they only had a very short amount of time to get back before Haku forgot what snow even looked like.

But the Mist ninja were still looking for them.

_Hold on, Haku. Hold on._

One night, while Haku slept in a fever-induced dream, Zabuza decided enough was enough. Paying a villager to allow them into the back of his cart, Zabuza loaded Haku up into the back and wrapped him tightly, watching over him without saying a word.

Three days later, Haku awoke to an unexpected chill.

"Ah... Zabuza...?" he murmured as he sat up with shaky arms, looking around a dark and desolate cabin. He felt rather than heard Zabuza appear beside him.

"It's good to see you're awake," Zabuza stated, helping Haku stand. "You've been out for a few days. But I have a surprise for you." Haku blinked in confusion as Zabuza wrapped him in clothing and led him to the door.

"Zabuza, it's okay. I don't have a fever anymore, you don't have to-"

But then he understood when the older man opened the door.

There was snow outside.

Haku's eyes widened.

"Oh..." then his entire being brightened, and he dashed outside. "My-!" Then he realized he had been laying down for three days, and he collapsed into the snow. "God..."

Zabuza stepped up beside him, and kneeled.

"You okay, Haku?"

Haku rolled over, and he was crying. He was crying and laughing and smiling all at the same time. Tears in his eyes, life in his cheeks, he looked up at the sky - looked up at the snow.

"I'm home," he breathed, breathless. "I'm home."

Zabuza had to smile.

"Yes," he replied, reaching over to brush the boy's hair out of his face. "Yes, you are."

_We are._

**End Four Ways:**

**Snow**

**So... yeah... I super-duper love this. :] Haku and Zabuza are so cute together. Just... so much fluff! *heart* **

**These aren't in chronological order! ...As should be obvious, but... oh well. :)**

**Hope you liked it as well guys!**

**So much love,**

**DDB  
**


End file.
